I recently came across an interesting dogma for powerful women, in Regena Thomashauer’s “Pussy: A Reclamation”. Reading this book, I felt the pain of modern women, split between being feminine and having to compete with men in a man-made world. I knew it all along, yet it felt refreshing to be reminded of it:
I love with my whole body, hear, and soul.
I say whatever the fuck is on my mind.
I make huge mistakes proudly.
I rage with as much passion as I grieve.
I live my poetry, my art.
I mother my child like a she-wolf.
I risk my life to live my truth.
I caught easily, mostly at myself.
I would sell my soul for a night of ecstasy.
Photography lies. It simplifies the world by framing it. And by deciding what we choose to include or exclude in a shot, we alter the interpretation of reality.
The idea for this set came from the photographer, who wanted to pay tribute to Dominika’s elegant, flexible and gracious body. She used to do gymnastics in high-school, so Michael chose the body – closely resembling the gymnastics leotard – as a symbol of flexibility and youth. When Dominika put the body on, she suddenly looked like 16, so we had to alter her make-up to make her look her age. What you see in this series is an artistically framed reality. It looks amazing in pictures, but I can assure you it didn’t look that way when Dominika was standing on the coffee table. All I could think was “I hope it doesn’t break”, because she is nude, and this is a glass table. Luckily, it all went fine.
What I hope to achive with this shot is to freeze the way we saw Dominka that day in time. It’s true she didn’t wear too much, but behind this nude body there is a sensual human being trusting us with the great responsibility to see and preserve her as an authentic, powerful woman.
We asked her to do silly things, like stading on an unstable armchair, and she trusted us. For a moment, it tipped. She lost her balance. And her breath. But we caught her safely. For a split second, that was trully a “Take my breath away” experience.
See Dominika’s full set Take My Breath Away
